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China Copyright Registration: How to Register a Copyright in China

Updated：2018-1-25 16:13:10Source：www.tannet-group.comViews：57

China copyright registration is one of Tannet’s intellectual property services. China is a signatory country of the Berne Convention the Universal Copyright Convention, and several other important international treaties in respect of intellectual property rights. As in many other countries, copyright registration is a voluntary procedure in China. Copyright shall exist from the date on which the creation of a work has been completed or from the date on which the development of a software product has been completed.

Features of copyright
The term of protection of the copyright in a work under different types of ownership is also different. In respect of a work in which the copyright is enjoyed by an individual, the term of protection of the property rights is the ‘life plus 50 years’, expiring on December 31 of the 50th year after the author’s death. For works in which the copyright is owned by a legal entity, the term of protection shall be 50 years, expiring on December 31 of the 50th year after the first publication of the work.

Documents needed to get your copyright registered
1. An application
This must include samples of the copyright work. Under Chinese copyright law, a work of fine art is protectable by copyright. The courts have held that the work should have originality, that is, express the creator’s creative choice, arrangement and selection. Stylized word marks with a reasonable level of stylization, and logos, labels and devices have been held to be works of fine art.

2. Proof of ownership of the copyright
This may be documentary proof of creation of the work by a third party together with assignment of the copyright. Where a copyright work is commissioned from an author external to the company evidence of the instruction, examples of the work created, and proof of assignment of copyright by Deed of Assignment are the relevant proofs.

3. Description of the work
This type declaration is typically needed where a trade mark has been in long term use, and the documents in (2) above are not available. In this case the business seeking to prove copyright ownership should provide, in declaration form, the purpose of the creation of the work, likely date of creation, proof of publication, historical information about use of the copyright work, being claims and documents in support of an inference of copyright ownership.

4. Proof of identity of the copyright owner
This is a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation of the company claiming copyright ownership, or in the case of an individual, a copy of passport details.

5. Power of Attorney
This is to enable to Chinese attorney to represent the copyright owner in the filing of the application for recordal of copyright and supporting documents before the CPCC.

Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website www.tannet-group.net, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to 2355735242@qq.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020, Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.